


R.

by Tashi_Lupin



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Brain Damage, Brain Dead Jason Todd, Gen, catatonic jason todd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 07:31:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11122647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tashi_Lupin/pseuds/Tashi_Lupin
Summary: Tim was just trying to do the right thing when he found a brain dead Jason Todd in Crime Alley.





	R.

It was a slow night. All the worst of the rogues were either in Arkham or laying low, and Batman had told Tim to "go check out the docks" which meant that that he and Catwoman wanted some alone time. The docks were clear, for once, so Tim was just going to check over Crime Alley before heading home. Well, back to the cave not home home. He would  take a quick nap but still be able to be on call.

It wasn't actually a crime that stopped him, but he was a hero and protecting people was his job and sometimes that meant protecting them from themselves. He had seen a boy, probably a few years older than him, slamming his head against one of the grimy Crime Alley walls. Tim didn't know if he could help, but he had to try. Its what Batman would do, its what Nightwing would do, it was what _Jason Todd_ would have done.

Tim landed behind the boy more loudly than he would have normally. He wanted the other to hear him, when Dick and Barbara had been teaching him how to deescalate these types of situations they said that was important. Tim had to admit that he hadn't paid as well of attention to those lessons as he did to others so he was running partially off instinct. He would have to review his notes. He wanted to just grab the boy to get him to stop, but that could cause more harm than good and get one or both of them hurt.

"Are you alright?" Tim said instead, keeping his voice steady and even. Again, he had been told this was important. He hopes this gets his attention, he doesn't really know what else to do.

The banging stops. The boy turns.

Tim knows that face

* * *

 

It makes him feel something. It clears the confusion in his head. Pain is real. Pain is not confusing. He can almost hear someone telling him not to do that, but he's never heard that voice before and it slips in and out like a bad radio signal. Besides, he has no one.

He hears someone behind him but he does not stop. They speak and speak to him. Their voice is like pain. Grounding. Brings him to the here instead of the fogs of confusion or the damp dark of That Place. He stops. He turns.

He sees the green, then the red, and then the yellow. But most importantly he sees the R. _His R._ Home safety warm love, his, his his. He does not remember seeing this R, but he knows it is his. It is goodness and magic and flight.

 _Bat_ , he thinks to himself and can almost feel himself tucked under a black weighted cape.

He lunges at the one who wears his R and tries to rip it off his chest with his blunt nails.

They scuffle and muscle memory sets in. The other stops him from taking it and he twists their arm to the their back. He did not realize he was doing it until it was done.

"Its okay," they say and its too even. Still, even though they look afraid, unsettled. There is a flash of blue and gold behind his eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you," they continue. "But please don't hurt me either."

He lets their hand fall, but his shoulders are still raised, his body tense and ready to attack. He stares with steely determination at the R, his R.

* * *

 

This is Jason Todd.

Jason Todd is dead, but there was no doubt in Tim's mind that this was Jason Todd. If the face and scars weren't enough (and Tim knew Jason's face so well), the recognition and having his arm twisted in the same way Batman had taught him to convinced him. But Jason Todd was dead.

This was Jason Todd.

He couldn't leave Jason, or this clone of him, or alternate version of him on the street. He was Batman's son. Bruce Wayne's son. Tim's hero.

He speaks in a low, quiet voice even though his heart's beat was comparable to a speedster. "It's okay," he said and wasn't sure if he was talking to Jason or himself. "I'll get you home, its okay."

He was filthy, oh god how long had he been on the streets. He wasn't wearing the suit he was buried in, but ratty clothes Tim suspected were stolen from a one of the clothing donation bins scattered around the city. It was his eyes that were the worst part. They barely reflected light, almost lifeless. Blank. It made Tim's skin crawl in the same way the first few seconds of fear toxin did.

"I'll get you something to eat," Tim said slowly, making his plan as he spoke, seeing a blinking McDonald's sign in the distance. It wouldn't be the best, but it was something and open. "Come with me please? I'll get you something to eat and get you home. I promise."

There was a glint of recognition behind Jason's eyes and a slow nod. Jason's hand clenched right around Tim's wrist, still tense for a fight. Tim let out a breath and nodded, moving his free hand to his comm, biting his lip, trying not to let his panic be visable.

"Bruce I know you're busy, but I need you to get to crime alley right now."

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a quick one shot to get me back in the swing of things while I work on Witches in Gotham. This is a fic I've had in my mind for a while. I can't claim any of this is medically accurate.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [B.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16398197) by [A_Wandering_Balloon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Wandering_Balloon/pseuds/A_Wandering_Balloon)




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